Combined air cleaner, intake silencer, and carburetor housing unit



ER, INTAKE SILENCER. AND CARBURETOR HOUSING UNIT F. SEBOK Filed Aprilll, 1950 COMBINED AIR CLEAN June l5, 1954 Patented June 15, 1954 UNITEDSTATES ATENT OFFICE COMBINED AIR CLEANER, INTAKE SI- LENCER, ANDCARBURETOR HOUSING UNIT Frank Sebok, Detroit, Mich., assigner toHoudalle-Hershey Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a

corporation of Michigan 6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in a combined air cleaner, intakesilencer and carburetor housing unit, and more particularly to such aunit highly desirable for use in connection with a downdraft carburetorassociated with an internal combustion engine of the automotive type,although the invention will have other uses and purposes as will beapparent to one skilled in the art.

Extreme dificulty has been experienced in positioning adequate aircleaning and intake silencing equipment beneath the hood of an automobile. The space between the carburetor and the automobile hood hasgradually been lessening, and that space will be lessened further toalmost an extreme extent in the proposed. designs. Heretofore suchapparatus, air cleaning and intake silencing means, has been connectedto the carburetor by means of clamping elements to join a portion of theapparatus to the carburetor air intake horn, which horn was an integralpart of a heavy cast carburetor housing held in place by a number ofbolts or the like. The construe-- tion of the cleaning and silencingmeans as well as the construction of the carburetor itself was adistinct detriment to the positioning of the cleaning and silencingapparatus within the lim ited space provided beneath the hood of anautomobile.

It has therefore become desirable to eliminate a material amount ofstructural elements heretofore believed necessary in order to get thenecessary equipment in the space allowed.

In the instant invention, this is accomplished by the provision of acomposite air cleaner and intake silencing construction, with anintegral part of that structure functioning as a housing for thecarburetor, thereby eliminating the previously used heavy cast housing,the intake horn of the carburetor, and the clamping connection betweenthe cleaning and silencing apparatus and the carburetor intake horn.

Other difficulty experienced with previous apparatus of this type,especially in an endeavor to so construct that apparatus that it wouldnt in the limited space, was the provision of smooth air ilow, themaintaining of low restriction to air ow, and the high velocity of theair when it entered the carburetor.

The present invention overcomes these diniculties with the provision ofa novel air cleaning structure which provides an even smooth flow of airto the carburetor.

The instant invention also provides a structure eliminating all sharpcorners so that restriction is maintained at an optimum level.

The instant invention also provides a structure wherein the velocity ofthe air entering the carburetor is considerably reduced.

Still another desideratum of this invention is the provision of an aircleaning arrangement whereby air is delivered to the carburetorimmediately adjacent the ports controlled by the choke Valve.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a combination aircleaner and intake silencer unit for ready association with acarburetor, and so constructed that there is almost instant as well asdirect communication between a choke valve control port of thecarburetor and an attenuating chamber of the silencing mechanism.

Still another object of the instant invention is the provision of an aircleaner and intake silencing unit, wherein a partition is provided whichforms a housing for a carburetor, and further serves to guide theincoming air, partially form a path for that incoming air, and partiallyclose oil a sound attenuating chamber.

Still another object of this invention is the provision oi an aircleaner embodying an inside annular air inlet passage, and an outsideannular exit passage for clean air, of considerably greater diameterthan the inside passage so that the velocity of the air is reduced, saidoutside exit passage leading directly to the air intake of a carburetor.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a combined aircleaner, intake silencer, and carburetor housing unit which surrounds acarburetor and may be positioned so as to extend only a minimum distanceabove a downdraft carburetor.

While some of the more salient features, charm acteristics andadvantages of the instant invenn tion have been above pointed out,others will become apparent from the following disclosures, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawing, in whichl'igure 1 is a planview oi a combined air cleaner, intake silencer and carburetor housingunit embodying principles of the instant invention, showing the sameassociated with a carburetor of the downdraft type; and

Figure 2 is a greatly enlarged part sectional, part elevational viewtaken substantially as indicated by the line II-II of Fig. 1, looking inthe direction of the arrows.

As shown on the drawings:

The illustrated embodiment of the instant invention is shown associatedwith a carburetor of the downdraft type, and more particularly acarburetor designed to supply a V-8 engine, wherein the carburetor hastwo exit passages for a combustion mixture, each leading to certaincylinders of the engine. t is to be understood, however, that theinstant invention might equally as well be associated with substantiallyany of earburetor, including a carburetor having only a single exitpassage for a combustion mixture, governed by a single throttle valve,and wherein the fuel and air are admitted by a single choke valve. InView of the fact that the internal carburetor structure forms no part ofthe instant invention, only those features of the carburetor necessaryto the proper presentation of the instant invention are herein disclosedand described, in short, the carburetor being illustrated ratherdiagrammatically.

The carburetor chosen by way of example includes a base portion l whichmay be connected to an internal combustion engine in a known manner,This base portion has therein a pair of mixing chambers 2 and 3 leadingto opposite sides of a V-8 engine. The exit of the combustion mixturefrom these mixing chambers is controlled by the usual throttle valves,not shown in the drawings. Entrance of both fuel and air into the mixingchambers is controlled by a of choke valves i and 5, respectively, bothof which are connected to the same shaft t for simultaneous operationeither manually or automatically.

Above the base portion of the carburetor is a iv structure 'l housingthe customary float chamber, and adjacent that structure is anotherstructure 8 which houses the customary accelerating pump. Liquid fuelemanates from the oat chamber to the ports controlled by the chokevalves fl and by way of fuel discharge pipes 9 and IE), respectively.

Extending upwardly from the structure 'l to which it is aflixed, is asingle bolt Il which may be equipped at its outer threaded end with asuitable wing nut l2 or the equivalent.

The carburetor is also provided with a housing supporting flange i3adjacent the top of the base portion l, and this nange is annularlygrooved in its upper face to provide a seat for a gasket le.

The illustrated embodiment of the instant invention includes a casingcomprising separable sections. The lower of these separable sectionsincludes an inside partition l5 having an outwardly and downwardlystepped iiange i6 around its open lower end, the horizontal portion ofwhich flange seats upon the aforesaid gasket le. Obviously, this angehas the same general contour as the supporting flange i3 of thecarburetor, and the preferable contour is round for the sake of economy.Immediately above the flange I6, the casing l5 is provided with anannular series of relatively large openings il through which air may beadmitted to the interior of the casing and thus to the carburetor. Thepartition or casing l5 has an upwardly domed or peaked top it, thecentral portion of which is somewhat flattened and provided with anaperture through which the upper end of the aforesaid bolt ll mayextend, this iiattened portion functioning as a seat for the wing nut i2which is attached externally of the cover i8. rfhus, the casing orpartition l5 together with its cover i8 forms a very eective housing forthe carburetor, enclosing all carburetor structure above the supportingange I3, and taking the place of the heretofore utilized heavy castcarburetor housing. At this point, it may well be noted that the entirecombined air cleaner, intake silencer and carburetor housing unit isheld in position over the carburetor by Qin means of the single bolt l land the wing nut l2. When this wing nut is tightened, the innerpartition or casing l5 is obviously pressed down into air tight sealingengagement with the gasket le'. n an intermediate location, a crosspartition i9 is spot welded or equivalently secured to the innerpartition I5 and extends outwardly into similar lixed engagement with asubstantially cylindrical shell 2G having an inwardly extending bottom2l, in turn connected to an upwardly extending tube 22 which, as willmore fully later appear herein, may function as a tuning tube for anattenuating chamber. The transverse partition l is shaped to provide asump for an air cleansing liquid 23 which may preferably be a relativelylight oil. Securely anxed to the intermediate portion of the crosspartition i9 is another cross partition 2li which has its outer marginspot welded or equivalently secured to the aforesaid shell 2li, thispartition together with the partition i9 dening a sound attenuatingchamber 25 of relatively small volume, for the attenuation of high pitchor a high frequency sound emanating from the internal combustion enginewith which the carburetor is connected. Communication is had with theinterior of the attenuating chamber Z5 by way of a series of openings 2Sthrough the shell 2t. lt will be noted that another attenuating chamber2l of much larger volume, for the attenuation of low frequency sounds isestablished between the bottom Zi of the shell l, the partiion 24 andthe inner portion of the partition i9, communication to which isestablished by way of the aforesaid tuning tube 22. The length of thistube 22 determines the actual tuning of the attenuating chamber 2l. Boththe attenuating chambers 25 and 2l function upon the resonatorprinciple.

lt will be noted that the tuning tube 22 is concentric with but ofgreater diameter than the aforesaid partition or casing it so that thereis a sound passageway 28 therebetween, and this passageway communicatesby way of the openings ll in the casing l5 almost directly with theports controlled by the choke valves and 5 from which the sound emanatesfrom the engine. Consequently, there is an almost instantaneoussilencing of the heavier or predominant tones emanating from the engine,and such sound waves do not have opportunity to travel a long course, bespread, and possibly amplified, before reaching the attenuation chamber.

Enclosing the shell 253 and its bottom 2l, but spaced therefrom, is anouter casing or shell 29 having a bottom 30 spot welded or equivalentlysecured to the casing l5 immediately adjacent the ilange I6. Between theshell 2t and the cuter casing 29 is an annular passage 3i for clean airwhich leads directly to the opening I in the casing lli and thus cleanair is delivered to the carburetor immediately adjacent the portscontrolled by the choke valve. This is deemed highly advantageous foroptimum carburetion.

With the exception of a plurality of spring clamps 32, the abovedescribed structure includes the lower casing section of the combinationunit.

The upper casing section includes a cover 33 having a depending skirt atits outer edge indicated at Sill, which is provided with a suitable beadfor engagement by the aforesaid spring clamps so that the two casingsections may be joined together. Obviously, a gasket may be interposedbetween the casing sections to insure an air tight seal.

rhe cover 33 is provided wit-h a relatively large central opening 35dened by a reverse bend in the cover, and just outside that opening, thecover is provided with another skirt portion 3e provided with an annularseries of relatively large openings 3l therein which conjointly functionas a dirty air inlet. This skirt portion 36 rests against, but is notsecured to the aforesaid cover It of the casing I5.

Held by a lock seam engagement resulting from the reverse bend in thecover 33 is an inside filter holding shell 38 depending from the cover,and turned inwardly as at 3e to provide a bottom provided with a seriesof large apertures dii therein. This shell 33 together with its bottom39 supports a filter mass fill preferably of the bonded type and made upof animal hair, vegetable fiber, wavy wire or ribbon, or any othersuitable material with adjacent strands bonded together by a suitableagent such as a thermoplastic. Between the filter holding shell 38 anithe aforesaid casing I5 is an annular passage di which functions as anair inlet passageway, and which leads directly toward the aforesaidliquid sump.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that the casing orpartition I5 not only effectively functions as an amply sufficienthousing for the carburetor, but also functions partially to deiine theair inlet passageway, ant partially to close off a sound attenuatingchamber. In addition, the upwardly peaked cover IS of this partitioneffectively guides incoming air smoothly and evenly into its proper pathSi In operation, the instant invention is simple yet highly eiiicient.It is a simple expedient to connect the combination air cleaning, intakesilencing carburetor housing unit over the cafu buretor by the simpleexpedient of placing the unit in position, and tightening down the thumbnut I2, the single bolt Il being all that is necessary to hold theentire unit properly in position. When so mounted, the partition I5 ofthe unit effectively houses the carburetor. Upon operation of theinternal combustion engine with which the carburetor is associated, airis drawn through the device by way of the inlet opening 35, descendingagainst the upwardly peaked cover I8 of the partition I5, passingdownwardly through the inlet passageway di, then passing upwardly aftercontacting the sump liquid 223 through the lter mass 4Q, descending theconsiderably larger y passageway 3l where the velocity of the air isconsiderably reduced by virtue of the size of the passage, and movingsubstantially radially in wardly to discharge through the opening ITinside the carburetor housing and immediately adjacent I the portscontrolled by the choice valves 4 and 5. Thus, there is an extremelysmooth and unrestricted passage for air entirely through the apparatus,there being no sharp corners around which the air must turn, but allcorners being round as clearly seen in the drawings.

At the same time, it will be noted that sounds of low frequencyemanating from the internal combustion engine baclrwardly through thecarm buretor, exit through the ports controlled by the choke valves land 5, and those sounds of lower frequency are almost immediatelyattenuated by their entrance into the large chamber 2l. Sounds of higherfrequency may pass backwardly through the inlet passageway 3i forcleaned air to enter the attenuating chamber 25 of lesser volume.

In addition it should be especially noted that the entire unit may bedisposed substantially as low as possible over the carburetor, it beingonly essential to provide suiiioient clearance for the unit above theupper end of the accelerating pump structure 8, and the unit may be evenlower than disclosed in the drawings, substantially to the extent wherethe cover It of the casing I5 actually contacts the upper end of theaccelerating pump structure. Thus, the combination air cleaning, intakesilencing and carburetor housing may be disposed in a minimum clearancebetween the top of the carburetor and the engine hood, and substantiallythe same clearance as heretofore required for the old fashioned castingtype of carburetor housing. It should also be noted that there is noneed for any air intake conduit connection by way of expensive clampingmeans to unite that conduit with the air intake horn of the carburetor,because the latter is also completely eliminated.

It will be understood that modiiications and variations may be eiiectedwithout departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the presentinvention.

I claim as my invention:

l. In combination, a carburetor having a supporting flange adjacent aport unenclosed by a carburetor structure and controlled by a chokevalve and an air cleaning and intake silencing unit connected with saidcarburetor, said unit including an inner casing seated on saidsupporting ange to house said carburetor and having an opening adjacentsaid Iiange, an outer casing spaced from said inner casing and having anair inlet opening therein, means between said casings dening an air pathbetween said openings, air cleaning means in said path, and partitionmeans between said casings denning with said inner casing a soundattenuating chamber operable upon the resonator principle to silence thefundamental tone of the engine carrying the carburetor, there being anopening for sound waves to said attenuating chamber immediately adjacentthe opening in the inner casing.

2. In combination, a carburetor having a supporting flange adjacent aport controlled by a choke valve and an air cleaning and intakesilencing unit connected with said carburetor, said unit including aninner casing seated on said supporting iiange to house said carburetorand having a clean air outlet opening adjacent said flange, an outercasing spaced from said inner casing and having an air inlet openingtherein, means between said casings dening an air path between saidopenings, air cleaning means in said path, said path being of greatercross-sectional area on the outlet side of said cleaning means to reducethe velocity of the air prior to its discharge through the outletopening, and partition means associated with the first said meansdefining a sound attenuating chamber operable upon the resonatorprinciple with an opening for sound waves immediately adjacent saidclean air outlet.

3. In combination, a carburetor having a supporting flange adjacent aport controlled :by a choke valve and an air cleaning and intakesilencing unit connected with said carburetor, said unit including aninner casing seated on said supporting ilange to house said carburetorand having an air outlet opening adjacent said flange, an outer casingspaced from said inner casing and having an air inlet opening therein,means between said casings defining an air path between said openings,air cleaning means in said path, and means between said casings defininga sound attenuating chamber separate from the air path and operable uponthe resonator' principle coinmunicating with said air path substantiallyat its junction with said outlet opening.

4. In an air cleaning and carburetor housing unit, an inner casinghaving a closed top and of a size to enclose a carburetor, an outercasing having its side wail spaced from said inner casing, said outercasing having an air inlet opening in its top above the closed top ofthe inner casing, filter holding shells between said casings denning apath communicating with said inlet around said inner casing and a pathfor cleaned air between the sheils and outer casing wall whereby thepath for cleaned air is larger and the clean air travels at lessvelocity than entering dirty air, partition means in said casingdefining a sound attenuating chamber of the resonator type, and saidchamber communicating with said clean air path and said clean air pathcommunicating with the interior of the inner casing at the lower end ofsaid inner casing.

5. In a combined air cleaning, intake silencing and carburetor housingnnit, an outer casing having an air inlet, an inner casing of a size tore- 8 having an opening to said attenuating chamber adjacent said cleanair delivery opening in the inner casing.

6. In an air cleaning unit, an inner casing having a closed top, anouter casing of greater crosssectional area around the inner casing,said outer casing having an inlet for dirty air adjacent the oiosed topof said inner casing, means between said casings dening therewith a pathfor incoming air and a path of greater cross-sectional area for outgoingclean air, air cleansing means between said paths, wherein7 clean airmay leave the unit at less velocity than incoming dirty air enters theunit, said inner casing being of a size to receive therein the upperpart of a carburetor and act as a protective housing for operating partsof the carburetor, partition means between said casings defining a soundattenuating chamber of the resonator type to attenuate the fundamentaltone of the engine with which the unit is to be associated, and saidinner casing and said partition means having adjacent openings near thebottoni of the inner casing communicating with the clean air path andsaid chamber.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,926,841 Donaldson Sept. 12, 1933 1,973,362 Weiertz et alSept. ll, 1934 2,310,510 Brown Feb. 9, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS NumberCountry Date 880,587 France Jan. 4, 1943

